Interview w/ Tiffany Shlain, Author of 24/6: Giving up Screens One Day a Week to Get More Time, Creativity, and Connection
I grew up in very creative soil: Northern California near Muir Woods in the 70s, with a father who was a surgeon who also designed an artful geodesic dome that he built in our backyard, and a mother who loved to craft and then went back to school to get her PhD when I was 8. Seeing them do things with both their minds and their hands inspired me.
In terms of my journey in the beginning…I tried to make a feature-length film called Zoli’s Brain right out of college. It was way too ambitious for my experience level. But I think it was the best thing that happened to me because I failed big young. It was humbling and taught me a lot of lessons I still use today.
At a certain point, after enough projects, I was able to realize the vision in my head. Whether it was a film, a book or an artwork. That takes time.
Can you share a little about yourself as artist, filmmaker and founder of the Webby awards? Is there one pursuit that is your favorite? If so why?
I have had several different chapters of my career that focused on different mediums, and now all the mediums are cross-pollinating within any given project. I started out as a filmmaker in my twenties and paid for my films working in technology. I founded the Webby Awards when I was 27, which let me make large-scale theater experiences and short films for the productions. When I returned to film full-time I incorporated all that I had learned from the web to make social change.
Throughout all this I’ve done a lot of public speaking and have written a monthly newsletter for 29 years called Breakfast @ Tiffany’s. I eventually wrote 24/6 about my family's practice of turning off screens one day a week. I spend a lot of time in nature during my days unplugged and then, during COVID, spent even more time which led me to start creating physical art with trees and found objects in nature. It feels so good to be working with my hands and then creating experiences in person around the art.
I just finished a short film about my sculpture, Dendrofemonology: A Feminist History Timeline, which shares both the creative process and thinking around the sculpture and all the feminist art activations I have had with the work on the National Mall in DC, in Madison Square Park in New York and now in St. Louis. I have used the work as a way to galvanize people around protecting and expanding women’s rights. So that new 7-minute film titled We Are Here is like a double helix, with the film circling around the art to tell a larger story. Each month my newsletter shares thoughts on the state of the world, any given project and then highlight a lot of other work, so all the mediums at this point intertwine.
I just finished a short film about my sculpture, Dendrofemonology: A Feminist History Timeline, which shares both the creative process and thinking around the sculpture and all the feminist art activations I have had with the work on the National Mall in DC, in Madison Square Park in New York and now in St. Louis. I have used the work as a way to galvanize people around protecting and expanding women’s rights. So that new 7-minute film titled We Are Here is like a double helix, with the film circling around the art to tell a larger story. Each month my newsletter shares thoughts on the state of the world, any given project and then highlight a lot of other work, so all the mediums at this point intertwine.
What led you to step into the role of author and write your first book - 24/6? Why was 2019 the right time for you to take on this project?
I always thought the book proposal I’m working on now, which is about how to take an idea out into the world, would be my first book. But as I was nearing a decade of turning off screens for one day a week with my family for what we call our Tech Shabbat, and seeing how transformative and beneficial this practice was, and seeing people become more and more addicted to their screens, never turning their phones off, I realized it was more urgent than ever to share this subject of unplugging weekly and returning to the ancient idea of Shabbat, a day of rest. The book delves into ideas of work and rest, nature, neuroscience and technology, as well as my own experience of sharing a screen-free day with a young family. Tech Shabbat continues to be one of the best things I do in my life. I am now on year 16 of doing it and it’s the single best practice I have brought into my life.
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How did the writing process work for you? Did you schedule a time every day, work madly when inspiration hits or ? Were you a plotter or a pantser?
During the period of writing, 3 to 4 days a week I would get up at 5 and write from 5 to 7. That’s my freshest brain. I wouldn’t go on email or do anything until I wrote for those 2 hours. I love that time and process so much. That also meant I had to go to bed at 9, which took a lot of discipline.
I was also in a writer’s group which I highly recommend. It was just three of us all working on books. We would meet once a month to share 9 pages and get feedback. It was wonderful support. Lastly, I have an amazing editor named Jenny Traig whom I’ve worked with for 19 years; it was wonderful to work on the book with her. We recently went to Esalen in Big Sur to work on two book proposals that I’m really excited about. The beauty of getting older is that you have worked with people for a long time and those deep layered relationships make everything better.
During the period of writing, 3 to 4 days a week I would get up at 5 and write from 5 to 7. That’s my freshest brain. I wouldn’t go on email or do anything until I wrote for those 2 hours. I love that time and process so much. That also meant I had to go to bed at 9, which took a lot of discipline.
I was also in a writer’s group which I highly recommend. It was just three of us all working on books. We would meet once a month to share 9 pages and get feedback. It was wonderful support. Lastly, I have an amazing editor named Jenny Traig whom I’ve worked with for 19 years; it was wonderful to work on the book with her. We recently went to Esalen in Big Sur to work on two book proposals that I’m really excited about. The beauty of getting older is that you have worked with people for a long time and those deep layered relationships make everything better.
In terms of writing, I love blurting out a messy first draft, then refining through the edit. By writing and editing you get closer and closer to knowing what you're thinking. It helps you understand exactly what you’re trying to say. I also love showing a draft to people I deeply respect and hearing their thoughts/edits/feedback. It’s such an intimate conversation you are having in the notes of the google doc. I find that process so stimulating, and I think that’s what’s so interesting about this whole AI question. It can be such a helpful tool, but you don’t want to use it to replace this very important process of writing and distilling because that’s how you figure out what you are thinking. You don’t want to have ChatGPT remove the important intellectual digestive process that writing provides, that helps you understand what you are thinking, or the invaluable suggestions you get from people you trust.
Would You Unplug? PAUSE Ep 10: Tech Shabbat
What about the journey to publishing your book came easiest for you, and what did you struggle with? Was there anything unexpected that surprised you along the way?
No one should underestimate how much time the process involves, from writing the proposal, to getting the book deal, writing the book, editing the book, publishing the book, and taking it out – it just requires a lot of time and attention. I would say it was a 4-year experience.
I do enjoy the solitary nature of the writing. And then I also enjoy going out in public on the book tour and engaging with people about the ideas. I know not all authors enjoy that second part. I do think you can just put just as much creative thinking into the experience of gatherings around the book as the book. I feel that way about art and films too. To me they are all part of creating a dialogue.
No one should underestimate how much time the process involves, from writing the proposal, to getting the book deal, writing the book, editing the book, publishing the book, and taking it out – it just requires a lot of time and attention. I would say it was a 4-year experience.
I do enjoy the solitary nature of the writing. And then I also enjoy going out in public on the book tour and engaging with people about the ideas. I know not all authors enjoy that second part. I do think you can just put just as much creative thinking into the experience of gatherings around the book as the book. I feel that way about art and films too. To me they are all part of creating a dialogue.
This ancient idea of a day of rest is really for everyone. Just as yoga and meditation are from cultures that aren’t my own but I still do them and they still help me, a regular Shabbat practice can change your life. I don’t come to it from a religious perspective and initially I didn’t feel like Shabbat was available to me. But any idea that’s been around for over 5000 years is worth examining and figuring out how to make it work in your life.
For me, turning off screens one day a week has been amazing. It is my most creative day for sure. I am a big journaler and all my best ideas come from that day unplugged. I had to investigate the neuroscientific reasons for that, and write about them. It also recharges me for the rest of the week. It means the world to me that more people feel like this is available to them and can bring a practice into their lives in this 24/7 world that helps them connect with themselves, people they love, and have time to think, be present and rejuvenated.
Anything coming up you'd like to share about?
The next thing on the horizon is my GettyPST art exhibition coming to San Francisco. It’s a joint show I created with my husband, artist and UC Berkeley professor Ken Goldberg - Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time & Technology featuring large-scale sculptures, video art and AI integrated art. It opened in LA last year, and we are so excited to bring it to our hometown since so much of the art (trees, AI and more) are inspired by Northern California. We also have additional new works and artworks from both Ken’s and my career. It opens at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art San Francisco on January 20.
The next thing on the horizon is my GettyPST art exhibition coming to San Francisco. It’s a joint show I created with my husband, artist and UC Berkeley professor Ken Goldberg - Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time & Technology featuring large-scale sculptures, video art and AI integrated art. It opened in LA last year, and we are so excited to bring it to our hometown since so much of the art (trees, AI and more) are inspired by Northern California. We also have additional new works and artworks from both Ken’s and my career. It opens at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art San Francisco on January 20.
Di Rosa is one of my favorite art institutions with the foremost collection of Northern Californian art. I love working with the curator Twyla Ruby there. It’s interesting to think of the role of book editor and curator of an art show. There are beautiful similarities: someone you deeply respect gives you their perspective on the selection and order of work, this time on physical objects versus words and passages. I do like to look at the similarities and differences in different mediums. It’s infinitely interesting to me. A lot of my artwork also involves deep research and writing. I reimagine what trees have witnessed on timelines. So I am still writing and editing a lot. Now it’s just trees versus paper that has the words. I burn the words into the trees with a special pen with a hot tip called a pyrography tool. It takes complete focus and concentration and is very meditative.
“We Are Here” documents the creative process and ideas behind Tiffany Shlain's
moveable monument, “Dendrofemonology: A Feminist History Tree Ring",
I would love to close with a favorite quote - your go to that inspires you when facing challenges.
“Whatever you think you can do, begin it; boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” For years Iwas told this was said by Goethe, but just recently learned it’s by William Hutchinson Murray, a Scottish mountaineer. Regardless of who said it, it has been my guiding quote, stuck above my desk since I was young, and still one I still think about.
Links -
“Whatever you think you can do, begin it; boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” For years Iwas told this was said by Goethe, but just recently learned it’s by William Hutchinson Murray, a Scottish mountaineer. Regardless of who said it, it has been my guiding quote, stuck above my desk since I was young, and still one I still think about.
Links -
- Website - www.tiffanyshlain.com/
- Order 24/5 - www.simonandschuster.com
- Subscribe to newsletter - Breakfast at Tiffany's
- Instagram - @tiffanyshlain
- Facebook - www.facebook.com/tiffanyshlain/
- Youtube - @connectedthefilm
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